Review of Leaves of Grass (2009) by Jon W — 15 Aug 2011

In "Leaves of Grass," Professor Bill Kincaid(Edward Norton) is so popular with his students that he has to beat them off with a stick. He has also gained some well-deserved attention from Harvard University who want him to head a new discipline in their law school to teach students philosophy, so they are not entirely soulless when they graduate. That will all have to wait because he has just received news that his estranged twin brother Brady(Edward Norton) has died, causing him to return home to Oklahoma for the funeral. Well, there would be one if Brady had died but he had not, instead faking his death, so he could pay off some very dangerous debts. In the meantime, Bill can visit his mother(Susan Sarandon) in a rest home and find out he will become an uncle for the first time.

If for no other reason then the fact that he finally lightened the hell up, "Leaves of Grass" is a definite improvement over writer-director Tim Blake Nelson's other movies. But it turns out that comedy is not his forte either, as the movie is wildly uneven with an unnecessary turn towards extreme violence in trying to explore why incredibly smart people do very dumb things with a bit of philosophy and literature thrown in for good measure. While Nelson remains a quality character actor(he also has a part here), he does what nobody else has done in getting a performance out of Keri Russell which may have something to do with her character cleaning a huge catfish. And as expected, Edward Norton does not disappoint in playing dual roles, holding the movie together as well as anybody can.